The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Public Television, Associated Press, Paul Harvey, and hundreds of newspapers around the country all have something in common. They have all carried news articles or commentaries on the fight between the "conservatives" and the "liberals" within the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Unfortunately it is true. In the 1970s a fight between those who accepted the higher critical method of Bible study (those believed that the Bible erred in matters of history, morality, doctrine, and ethics), and those who accepted the Bible as the Word of God (infallible and without error) came to a head. The immediate crisis ended when the liberals walked out of the St. Louis Seminary and started Seminex (Seminary in Exile) and a new synod (AELC). In the wake of that battle over the Bible, about 300 pastors and 250 congregations (liberal) left the synod. But, by the time the synod dealt with the issue, our colleges and seminaries had spent the better part of 15 years teaching thousands of seminary students (who became pastors) a more moderating and liberal view of the Bible, Lutheranism, and our practice. For fear of being marked, many of those pastors remained silent about their positions and did not leave with those who taught them this errant view of Lutheranism.

While the immediate problem was solved by the 1974 walkout, the division within the LC-MS did not end. By the 1980's the LC-MS again started experiencing theological turbulence. Churchmen (and women) who were sympathetic to the liberal position began ascending to high offices within the synod, while at the same time the seminaries (especially the Fort Wayne Seminary) began building a "better" pastor. He was better in the sense that he was taught a more thorough and deeper understanding of the Word of God, the Lutheran Confessions, Lutheran history and liturgy. He also was taught to understand liberal philosophy/theology more completely than did those who came before him.

While the new pastors were returning to our Lutheran heritage and the Reformation spirit, the synodical leaders were moving in the opposite direction. In 1989, liberals ousted Dr. Robert Preus, the synod’s leading conservative theologian, from the presidency of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN, in an attempt to liberalize the seminary. They were largely successful in preventing Dr. Preus from returning to his office and former influence, but failed in the larger effort to liberalize the seminary.

In the 1990s the division widened and the synodical battles increased. In 1992 Dr. Al Barry (the conservative candidate) was elected to the synodical presidency by 12 votes (out of 1,200). Having failed to deal with the doctrinal problems of our synod, nine years later our current synodical president, Dr. Kieschnick, (the liberal candidate of choice) was elected to synodical office by the exact same margin - - 12 votes. As a result of his election, liberals and moderates in the synod have been emboldened in their efforts to move the synod to the theological left. They have engaged in religious activities (e.g., a joint worship service with Muslims, Hindus, Sheiks, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and others) that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago and are contrary to the Bible’s teaching.

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people." Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you." 2 Corinthians 6:14-17

Recently, some pastors charged the synodical president with wrong doing, but the Committee on Constitutional Matters ruled that a pastor or congregation cannot charge a synodical president with wrong doing (even if he is guilty). They maintain that only a synodical convention has authority over a synodical president, therefore no entity can correct the synodical president except the synod in convention (in other words, we have a sort of Lutheran pope).

In an effort to educate lay people as to the doctrines and issues involved, several groups have created webpages, documents, and publications to prepare congregations such as ours for the difficult days ahead. One document you should look at is the Northern Illinois Confessional Lutherans document "That They May Be One". You can access this document through the Reformation Today Webpage.  I have signed this document as have hundreds of pastors and laymen. You might want to consider doing the same thing. As your pastor I encourage the congregation to keep up on these matters and to pray for our synod that the Truth of God’s Word may be known.